Prime Minister of Canada
Langevin Block
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A2
March 28, 2019
As has been widely reported, on the occasion of the 2019 International Women’s Day, French President Emmanuel Macron publicly invited imprisoned Iranian lawyer Ms. Nasrin Sotoudeh to be part the G7 Gender Equality Advisory Council, a body created by Canada last year at your recommendation. We are writing to you to request that Canada demonstrate its international leadership in protecting women and human rights defenders by publicly endorsing President Macron’s invitation. We further request that Canada invite Ms. Sotoudeh to serve on .one or more institutions of similar international standing.
Ms. Sotoudeh has been an inspiring figure for millions of women and men around the globe, including many in Canada. Because of her advocacy for human rights and women’s rights, and because she has been tireless in providing legal assistance to political prisoners in Iran, Ms. Sotoudeh has spent many years in jail. Just weeks ago, in a new trial deemed unfair by Amnesty International, Sotoudeh was reported to have been sentenced to 38 years in prison and 148 lashes. This unfair sentence has generated outrage and disbelief among all democratic nations.
An endorsement of the French initiative, and another public invitation to Ms. Sotoudeh from the Canadian Prime Minister which acknowledges her heroic sacrifices and condemns her unjust imprisonment would send a strong message of solidarity on behalf of all Canadians. It would also put the Iranian government on notice that the world will not forget about Ms. Sotoudeh. In addition, such an action would acknowledge the efforts of those who risk their lives to demand basic and universal human rights and women’s rights across the globe. Finally, given that Ms. Sotoudeh’s activism is globally known, and given that her name is frequently mentioned as a potential recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, Canada’s leadership on this issue would be widely recognized and applauded by human rights defenders across the world.
We are certain that such endorsement of President Macron’s action, and an invitation to Nasrin Sotoudeh to serve on another institution of .similar nature, will have the support of all Canadians and parliamentarians of all political stripes
Morteza Abdolalian
Board member, Canadian Journalists for Free Expression
Nazanin Afshin-Jam MacKay
Founder, Stop Child Executions
Payam Akhavan
Professor of International Law, McGill University
Gary Caroline
Lawyer, Caroline Law LLP
Imogen Coe
Professor, Faculty of Science, Ryerson University
Affiliate Scientist Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute
Vice-President, Canadian Society for Molecular Biosciences
Daryl Copeland
Research Fellow, Canadian Global Affairs Institute
Policy Fellow, University of Montreal Centre for International Studies (CERIUM)
Senior Advisor, Science Diplomacy, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis
Paul Copeland, C.M.
Lawyer and Life Bencher, Law Society of Ontario
Former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
.The Honourable Ujjal Dosanjh, P.C., Q.C
Former Premier of British Columbia
Former Federal Minister of Health
Former Senator
Former Mayor of the City of Toronto
Katie Gibbbs
Executive Director, Evidence for Democracy
Terry Glavin
Journalist
Mehrdad Hariri
CEO & President, Canadian Science Policy Centre
Ata Hoodashtian
Associate Professor of Political Science, Swiss Umef University, Geneva
Homa Hoodfar
Professor, Concordia University
Arsalan Kahnemuyipour
Associate Professor of Linguistics, University of Toronto
Marcus Kolga
Senior Fellow, Macdonald-Laurier Institute
Megan Leslie
Former Member of Parliament
Former Deputy Leader of the NDP
The Honourable Peter Mackay P.C., Q.C
Former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
Akaash Maharaj
Executive Director, Mosaic Institute
Shuvaloy Majumdar
Munk Senior Fellow for Foreign Policy, Macdonald-Laurier Institute
.The Honourable Reza Moridi, P.C
Former Minister of Research, Innovation and Science of Ontario
.Lorne Nystrom, P.C
Former Member of Parliament
Soheil Parsa
Artistic Director, Modern Times Stage Company
Doina Popescu
Founding Director, Ryerson Image Centre, Ryerson University
Former Premier of Ontario
Former Interim Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada
Farid Rohani
Honorary Lieutenant Colonel (The British Columbia Regiment)
Member of the Global Reporting Centre Advisory Board
Brandon Silver
Director of Policy and Projects, Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights
Kaveh Shahrooz
Lawyer
Senior Fellow, Macdonald-Laurier Institute
Mamdouh Shoukri, C.M., OOnt
President Emeritus, York University
Fred (Farhad) Soofi
Board Member, Tri-Cities Chapter of Amnesty International
Recipient of Top 25 Canadian Immigrants 2016 Award
Shahram Tabe
Status Professor of Chemical Engineering, University of Toronto
Olivia Ward
Filmmaker and Former Toronto Star Foreign Affairs Writer
Farrokh Zandi
Associate Professor, Schulich School of Business, York University
Director, International Business Designation
